Genome-wide by environment interaction studies of maternal smoking and educational score in UK biobank

Abstract

Purpose This study aimed to investigate the associations between maternal smoking (MS) and education score in adult offspring. Methods To better understand this link, we performed a two-stage genome-wide by environment interaction studies (GWEIS) of MS and offspring education score in UK Biobank cohort. Specifically, 276 996 subjects from England were enrolled in the discovery study, while 24 355 subjects from Scotland and 14 526 subjects from Wales were enrolled in the replication study. GWEIS were conducted by PLINK 2.0 with MS used as an environmental risk factor. Results Significant GWEIS associations (P < 0.0001) between MS and offspring education score in both the discovery cohort and two replicate cohorts (Scotland population and Wales population) were identified. GWEIS identified 2 independent significant single nucleotide polymorphism–MS interaction, with one variant located in the chromosomal 16 (rs72768988, Position: 22,768,798, P = 1.22 × 10-8, β = 6.7662) and the other one located in 2q32.3 region (2 : 196424612_GT_G, Position: 196 424 612, 3.60 × 10-9, β = −0.4721). Conclusion Our results suggested 2q32.3 region and HECW2 gene could negatively moderate the influence of MS on offspring's educational status.